


Sturdy as the Rock Below

by Rina_san28



Series: Remade [3]
Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Advice, Comfort, F/M, Friendship, Once a dad always a dad, Pre-Canon, Selectively Mute Link, Why is daruk so big?, he's full of love and paternal tendencies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-14
Updated: 2018-07-14
Packaged: 2019-06-10 04:43:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,066
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15283923
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rina_san28/pseuds/Rina_san28
Summary: Link needs a little guidance, but luckily Daruk has some to spare.OrDaruk's tries his best to parent his newest, tiniest friend.





	Sturdy as the Rock Below

**Author's Note:**

> I've probably said this before, but Daruk reminds me a lot of my granddad. I love him so much. 
> 
> This takes place about two to three years before the Calamity. 
> 
> Enjoy!

“Rilla?” Daruk called, rummaging through the pile of rocks in the corner. “Have you seen my training journal?”

 

“On your desk, right where you left it!”

 

“Right!” He chucked sheepishly. “Thanks.”

 

“My pleasure,” his wife said. Her eye-roll was audible in her tone. “What has you in a twist?”

 

“That little Hylian kid with the sword’s comin’ in today,” Daruk said. “Problem is, he only talks with his hands and paper’s no good up here for writing. Gotta try somethin’ else.” He opened the metal rings and pulled some of the thin slate sheets out. “I told him not to worry about it.”

 

Rilla looked up from the stone block she was carving. “A kid with a sword?”

 

“Yup. Can’t be more than, I dunno, fourteen? Fifteen?” He shrugged. “It’s hard to tell with Hylians. But…you know the old tales, about the special sword the goddesses blessed. He’s got it.”

 

“At fourteen?” Rilla frowned. “That’s too young, Hylian or not.”

 

“It gets worse,” Daruk said. “I was chattin’ with him and another fella at the stables the other day, and when the other guy asked about it, Link said he got it when he was eleven.”

 

Rilla was quiet for a moment, tossing her carving lightly from hand to hand. “I…I don’t like it,” she said finally. “Everything that’s been happening recently – the monsters, the volcano acting up, and now this boy – it feels like a warning.”

 

“If it’s a warning, then we’ve gotta be ready for whatever’s coming with it.” Daruk bent over and gently knocked his forehead against hers. “Don’t worry about it, jewel. I can handle it.” He glanced outside, then jumped. “I’m gonna be late!”

 

“Then scoot!” Rilla made a shooing motion, then returned to her work. “Don’t crush the kid. Kinna’d never let you hear the end of it.”

 

“I can hear it now,” Daruk joked. “‘Pa! You’re gonna be called a meat tenderizer!’ She needs to work on her insults. See ya at dinner!”

 

He hurried out of the house, grabbing the chest that sat outside the front door. Link was meeting him near Medingo Pool – not hot enough to risk too much damage, but still where he’d need a lower-grade elixir. The boy had seemed stressed, so Daruk figured that what he really needed was a good meal. He was far too thin.

 

The walk was quick, and before he knew it, he could see Link waving from where he was clinging to a rock spire like a cave spider. Daruk waved back. “Hey little guy! What’s new?”

 

Link shrugged, scuttling back down to the ground to join the massive Goron.

 

“I brought some slate,” Daruk said, holding the sheets out. “I’ve got a pick here, too, for writin’ on it. Should be small enough for your tiny hands.”

 

While Daruk found a spot to settle on the side of the road, Link began scratching at the stone sheets. Evidently satisfied, he flopped down on a small outcrop and began writing furiously.

 

“Got a lot to say today?” Link nodded, then flipped the sheet around for him to read.

 

 _My dad is presenting me to the king in a few weeks,_ it said. _It’s because I have the Master Sword. I don’t really want to go, though, because once I’m there I don’t think they’re gonna let me leave. I’m not gonna be able to see you or Mipha and what if they make me talk to the Princess? What if they make me talk? I can’t talk. I wanna stay with you guys._

 

Daruk sighed. “That’s rough, buddy. Well, I’ll tell you what I told my Kinna when she rolled outta the cave. Sometimes you’ve gotta do things you don’t want to. Sometimes you want to do things you can’t. People grow and change, just like water or wind wearing away at stones, or lava cooling on the slopes. I dunno who Mipha is or what they think, but I know myself, and I can tell you that I dunno what’s going to happen tomorrow or the next day or the day after that. I may blow up next week and you wouldn’t see me anyway!”

 

Link looked a little alarmed, but Daruk continued before the boy could get started on another slate.

 

“Listen,” he said gently as he could manage, “what you were sayin’ has a lotta ‘what ifs’ in it. You’re not gonna know until you go. Remember, everybody gets a day off, and the castle if pretty close to everybody. You’ll see us again, even if we have to come and see you! Friendship, family – those are as sturdy as the mountain’s feet, and I’m not abandonin’ a little brother.”

 

The Hylian’s eyebrows shot up in surprise and he scribbled something on the slate. Daruk leaned over, read it, and grinned.

 

“You bet you’re a brother!” he cheered, pounding the ground with one huge fist. “You’re strong, you eat like nothin’ I’ve ever seen, and you even saved my rear when we first met! Not callin’ you a brother’d be an insult!”

 

 _I’ve already been adopted by the Zora,_ Link wrote. _Maybe I should try getting adopted by everybody else._

 

“Might have a hard time with those Gerudo,” Daruk joked. “They don’t seem to care much for fellas.”

 

Link shrugged. _True._ He hesitated, took the first slate back, and underlined part of the mini rant. _What if they make me talk?_

 

“Then you take that slate, whack ‘em up the head with it, and write ‘em what-for!” Daruk answered. To his surprise, Link burst into a fit of loud, uncontrollable laughter. “Hey! Honest advice!” That just made him laugh harder. The Goron watched him, noticing with no small amount of satisfaction that the tension in his shoulders had melted away, as well as his general aura of _get-me-out-of-here_. He looked like an actual kid.

 

Daruk let him go for a few minutes, but when the giggle fit showed no signs of letting up, he decided to intervene. “Man, looks like you’re no help. Gonna have to get rid of these seared steaks. Pity, they look tasty enough that even I could eat ‘em.”

 

Link froze, then looked up hopefully.

 

“Yeah, yeah,” Daruk chuckled, and opened the chest he’d stashed behind him to reveal half-a-dozen packages of the stuff. “It’s all yours!”

 

With a cheer that almost sounded like a _“yes!”_ Link dove in.

**Author's Note:**

> Rilla is Daruk's wife, and they have one daughter named Kinna. Kinna is Yunobo's mum, but not until Daruk's already long gone. I think Daruk's the oldest of the Champions, both in years and experience, based on Urbosa's diary in particular. 
> 
> I'm rina-san28 on Tumblr!


End file.
